Southwest Colorado agriculture producers hope for relief but none is in sight

Adrian Baldarrama wheels irrigation pipe into place to water at the Oliver farm northwest of Cortez.

Each day, eyes turn to the horizon. Searching out the shape of a cloud. Yearning for the glimpse of gray over the mountains. Hoping for rain.

Each day, the skies remain clear. The hot sun beats down upon the red earth of Montezuma and Dolores counties. The vicious winds race across the landscape, pulling moisture from the ground. The rain doesn’t fall.

The unmerciful spring has turned to an unrelenting summer.

For agricultural producers in Southwest Colorado, this is the story of drought. A day-to-day battle with the elements. The morning hope that today will bring much needed moisture. The evening disappointment when dust clouds continue to billow without the relief of showers.

As June of 2012 draws to a close and summer begins its relentless march toward harvest, local ag producers find themselves in a precarious position between the monsoonal rains of July and August and the bone-dry conditions on the ground.

“Everybody knows it is extremely dry,” said Dolores County CSU Extension Office Agent Kim Dillivan. “Seeds need some moisture to germinate and there just isn’t much moisture out there.”

Lower than average snowpack in the high country, intense winds, warmer-than-normal temperatures and a lack of spring rains have combined forces in a perfect storm that’s left Southwest Colorado dry and parched.

A DIFFICULT SPRING

Since January, the Cortez area has received just 2.59 inches of total precipitation, not quite 48 percent of average. Conditions grow more bleak moving north through Montezuma and Dolores counties. Dove Creek has recorded just 1.8 inches of precipitation this year, less than 35 percent of average.

The dry conditions have left farmers moving tentatively into the planting season, wondering if the rains will come in time to salvage an already difficult year.

A late freeze over Memorial Day weekend hurt hay production in the county, followed by a weevil infestation in many of the area alfalfa fields.

“The hay harvest in the area is down,” said Paul White, executive director of the Montezuma County Farm Service Agency. “It’s not due to drought, but due to the freeze. That really affected hay production. So we are already dealing with a tough year without the addition of drought.”

Wheat production in Montezuma and Dolores counties is also down, due to combined factors of freeze and lack of water. White estimates the local wheat crop has taken a 50 to 70 percent hit. Local farmer Destry Daves, a third-generation ag producer from Pleasant View, agrees.

“The wheat has done about what it is going to do,” Daves said. “There isn’t much we can do at this point. It isn’t good.”

Crop production in Montezuma county is a patchwork of different products and methods. Farmers in the region plant hay, wheat, beans, sunflowers and safflower, among other things. Each crop relies on different amounts of water at different periods in the growing season. Along with a variety of crops, the area is also home to irrigated and dry land farming.

MCPHEE MAKES A DIFFERENCE

Thanks to the existence of McPhee Reservoir, irrigated crops stand the best chance of survival during drought conditions.

“(Irrigated crops) are not feeling a pinch because of the reservoir capacities,” White said.

On June 1, McPhee Reservoir stood at 106 percent of average and reservoir managers predicted the season will end with a surplus, albeit a small surplus. The reservoir’s full capacity indicates the ability of farmers to irrigate their crops without fear of cutoffs, but some producers are worried that increased irrigation usage early in the season will have a toll on reservoir resources.

“The drought is going to affect our irrigation water,” Daves said. “We are using a lot of water awfully early in the year and I’m worried about the level of the lake.”

Instream flow numbers are also worrisome for the reservoir. On Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey placed Dolores River streamflow just above the reservoir at 12 percent of average, placing the river firmly under the classification of severe hydrologic drought. Lack of substantial flow on the river negatively impacts the chances of surplus moving into the 2013 water year.

DRYLAND CROPS DESPERATE

While farmers of irrigated crops are keeping a close eye on the levels at McPhee, dryland farmers are watching the skies, relying on the rains that typically fall and nourish bean crops.

“The doom and gloom is on the non-irrigated crops at this point,” White said. “That is where we need the water. And we need it soon.”

Soil moisture content is part of the picture of dryland crops, which rely on a base layer of moisture for germination and growth. White said though farmers have said they have to dig through eight to 10 inches of soil to find moisture, beans are growing throughout the region, which is a good indicator that the plants have found water.

“Driving around, the beans look good,” White said. “They are up, and that is amazing me to no end. They are up and in stands and they are not weak stands at this point.”

White said right now is a balancing act for area farmers. Too many more days without rain could spell disaster for the ag season, but if the rains come crops could turn around quickly.

“There’s a lot we don’t know,” he said. “There is so much speculation right now. If we start raining in July we could get a good bean crop. If we start getting rains at normal or above normal it will change the entire outlook of the crops.”

Daves agreed.

“We are going to get a lot less than a good bumper crop this year, but if we get rain by July 4th, we might be alright,” he said.

DROUGHT IMPACTS LIVESTOCK

While farmers worry about the crops on the ground, area ranchers are hoping rain will lessen the impacts of drought on forage and allow their livestock to continue to graze on grasslands in the area.

Dillon Daves, a fourth-generation farmer from Dove Creek, runs cattle on dryland pasture. He said the drought has impacted the quality of grasses and forage in the area and is forcing him to examine how to feed his cattle through the year.

“I’m trying to cycle the pastures and move them from place to place, but I don’t really know what to do,” he said. “We’re gonna have to get rain or I’m going to have to start feeding hay.”

While some livestock producers in the region utilize private pastures for their cattle, many rely on grazing permits on public lands. Continued dry weather conditions will impact grazing conditions on those public lands, forcing producers and the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to work together to lessen impacts on grazing allotments. Oftentimes that may mean moving cattle off of certain allotments to allow the ground a respite.

“This is a low production year for grass, we just don’t have as much,” said Mike Jensen, a range management specialist for the Dolores Public Lands Center

Jensen and Kiley Whited, range management specialist for BLM’s Tres Rios office, both said decisions regarding grazing allotments during drought are made in partnership with producers. While the land managers are concerned about the health of the ground, producers are concerned with the health of the herds. The two often go hand in hand.

“It is a cooperative decision,” Whited said. “We try to keep them in business and keep them productive and they work with us so the allotments aren’t hurt for future use.”

Summer drought most often impacts winter grazing permits and Whited said rangeland managers will monitor ground conditions and meet with producers in October to discuss permit management.

“We will look at what is growing and what isn’t and where the water is and then meet with producers and make a plan,” he said.

A PASSION FOR THE LIFESTYLE AND THE LAND

With all of the obstacles farmers and ranchers must overcome in the face of drought, many would wonder why they continue to plant year after year.

For most, it is simple.

“It’s what I’ve always done, it’s who I am,” said Destry Daves. “This is all I’ve ever known. You learn to adapt to the situation. Every year is different.”

White said farming is a risk, but it is a risk that keeps producers coming back.

“Farming is a gamble; it is the most addictive gamble there is,” he said. “I call it a disease. Those of us who like it and love it and want to be in it, can’t imagine doing anything else.”

As for how the men and women of the land face the drought, knowing each dry day cuts into their crops and their livelihood, Daves said it is all about faith.

“You have to trust the Lord,” Daves said. “That’s how I get through it. You just have to dig deep and find the faith.”

Related stories:

It’s bad, but will 2013 be worse?

Some more concerned with next summer’s water shortages

By Kimberly BenedictJournal Staff WriterHave a conversation with anyone about the dry conditions in Southwest Colorado and you are likely to hear the words, “It’s just like 2002.” But for agricultural producers in Montezuma and Dolores counties, 2012 isn’t 2002, not yet anyway.The drought of 2002 was one of the worst in Colorado history, according to data from the Drought Lab at Colorado State University. The drought was typified by profound water shortages, two of the largest wildfires Colorado has ever seen, and widespread crop loss. Locally, the 2002 agricultural year ushered in irrigation shortages, due to a less-than-full McPhee Reservoir, along with severe losses for dryland crops. This year, McPhee Reservoir is full and water managers expect to meet irrigation demand.It was the year before the devastating drought that may provide the most accurate historical lesson for 2012.“To me, this isn’t 2002, this is 2001,” said Paul White, executive director of the Montezuma County Farm Service Agency. “In 2001 we had a below normal winter but we greened up and we had normal storage for the Dolores Water project. Dryland producers were the ones who got hurt. It was kind of like this (year).“You have to understand, to get into 2002 we had to dry out and get no moisture for the winter. We are green this year, like the beginning of 2001. The drought of 2002 was a 23-month drought that started in 2001. I think we may be looking at that cycle again.”Local farmer Destry Daves agreed that though on-the-ground conditions are dry, much like 2002, the water situation for irrigated crops is much better this year.“The weather is a lot like 2002, but there is more water in the lake,” Daves said. “But on the other hand, it has been so windy and hot and I don’t remember it being quite like that in 2002, either.”Because 2002 is fresh in the minds of area farmers and ranchers, White said many producers are exercising caution and planning in their approach to 2012.“The memory of 2002 is a driving force in what people are doing this year,” White said. “That year is really fresh in everyone’s mind. Guys are drawing back and being careful.”Some of that caution is evident in fewer new pieces of equipment and machinery in the fields as farmers save rather than spend, and some is evident in planting choices being made by producers in the area.Some farmers have made the decision not to plant this year, weighing the cost of planting and harvesting against the meager crops likely to result from the dry season.“(Farmers) have changed their rotation around to reduce their plantings, we are seeing that a lot,” White said. “If they were planning to summer fallow a field in the next few years, they are going ahead and doing it this year. Everyone is trying to reduce their costs. They can’t afford to invest money and then lose it.” White said the drought of 2002 hurt many of the producers in the area, and most just recovered from the impacts. Another drought so soon could have devastating consequences.“Can they survive another drought? There were guys that didn’t survive the last one,” White said. “It really depends on what comes after this year. I am concerned, especially about the young generation. They may not be in the financial situation to weather this.“I have seen farms and ranches change hands as people have decided to get out. For people still in and young people who decided to farm, this is going to be hard.”Daves said those who decide to invest themselves in agriculture must be willing to reconcile themselves with the challenges weather brings.“You adjust,” he said. “You can’t make it rain.”The larger ramifications of a dry 2012 will be felt in 2013 if the monsoons don’t come and the snows don’t fall on the mountains this winter and the reservoir doesn’t fill. Then, the area will face conditions like 2002, according to White. “I am praying beyond reasonable hope it starts raining,” White said. “I don’t want to go through that again. I don’t want to deal with the ramifications or the issues. I don’t want to have to see my producers deal with it again. If the rain and snow comes we should be OK. If they don’t come... I just don’t want to think about what next year might look like.”

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The Montelores Early Childhood Council holds its monthly luncheon meeting at 11:45 a.m., in downstairs meeting room 110, in the Johnson...